BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

-o 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


"In  re  California  Indians 
to  Date" 

An  authorized  account 
of  the  present  status  of 
the  California  Indians 
and  what  has  been  done 
up  to  1 909. 

Issued  by  the  Los  An 
geles  Council  of  the 
Sequoya  League. 

Fifth  Bulletin 


You  arc  asked  to  join  the  Los  Angeles  Council  of  the  Scquoya 
League.  The  League  secured  a  model  reservation  for  the  evicted 
Warner 's  Ranch  Indians;  secured  the  repeal  of  the  atrocious  "Hair- 
Cut  Order f  has  supplied  seed-grain,  clothing,  bedding  and  food 
for  eight  months  to  the  starving  Mission  Indians;  has  opened  a 
market  for  their  basket  industry  that  preserved  it  from  extinction 
and  lias  gone  far  toward  securing  for  these  disinherited  children  of 
the  soil,  ample  land  and  water  by  which  to  earn  a  secure  Jiving  b\ 
the  application  of  labor  and  thrift.  It  has  yet  many  things  to  do. 
Membership,  $2.00  per  year;  life  membership,  $50.00.  Remit 
to  Chas.  F.  Lummis,  200  Avenue  jj,  Los  Angeles. 


LEAGUE 


(INCORPORATED  ) 
MAKE     BETTER.    INDIANA 


Se-quo-ya,  the  American  Cadmus"  (born  1771, 
died  1842),  was  the  only  Indian  that  ever  invented 
a  written  language.  The  League  takes  its  title  from 
this  great  Cherokee,  for  whom,  also,  science  has  named 
("Sequoias")  the  hugest  trees  in  the  world,  the  giant 
Redwoods  of  California. 


NATIONAL    EXECUTIVE 

COMMITTEE 
David   Starr   Jordan,    Prest.    Stanford 

Univ. 
Geo.    Bird    Grinnell,    Editor    "Forest 

and   Stream,"   N.   Y. 
Chas.    Cassat   Davis.    L/os    Angeles 

C.  Hart   Merriam,   Chief   Biolog.   Sur 

vey,    Wash. 

D.  M.  Riordan,  New  York  City 
Richard  Egan,   San   Juan  Capistrano, 

Cal. 
Chas.   F.   Lummis,    Chairman 


LOS    ANGELES    COUNCIL 

Prest.,   Rt.   Rev.   J.   H.  Johnson 
Treas.,   Wm.   C.   Patterson 


EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE 

Wayland  H.  Smith,    (Sec.) 

Miss   Cora   Foy 

Mrs.    Arturo   Bandini 

Mrs.  J.  E.   Coleman 

Chas.    F.    Lummis,    Chairman 


A  I  )VI  SOU  Y   BOARD 


Mrs.   Phebe   A.   Hearst,   University  of 

Cal. 

Archbishop  Ireland,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
Ex.  U.  S.  Senator  Thos.  R.  Bard,  Cal. 
Edward  E.  Aver,  Newberry  Library, 

Chicago 
Miss    Estelle    Reel,    Supt.    all    Indian 

Schools,    Washington 
W.     J.     McGee,     Director     St.     Louis 

Museum 
F.     W.     Putnam,     Peabody     Museum, 

Harvard  College 


Stewart    Culin,    Brooklyn    Inst. 
Geo.   A.   Dorsey,   Field  Columbia  Mu 
seum,   Chicago 
Dr.    T.    Mitchell      Prudden,       College 

Phys.   and   Surgeons,   N.   Y. 
Miss    Alice    C.    Fletcher,    Washington 
F.   W.    Hodge,   Smithsonian   Institute, 

Wash. 

Hamlin   Garland,   author,   Chicago 
Mrs.  F.  N.  Doubleday,  New  York 
Hon.    A.    K.    Smiley    (Mohonk),    Red- 
lands,    Cal. 
George   Kennan,    Washington 


LIFE    MEMBERS 

Mrs.  Horace  M.  Dobbins,  1204  S.  Orange  Grove  Ave.,  Pasadena;  Mrs.  E. 
L.  Doheny,  8  Chester  Place,  Los  Angeles;  Josephine  Wr.  .urexel ;  Mary  F. 
Fels  39  Wilson  St.,  London;  Mr.  Joseph  Fels,  39  Wilson  St.,  London;  Miss 
Antoinette  E.  Gazzam,  Cornwall  on  Hudson,  N.  Y. ;  Mrs.  A.  R.  Gazzam, 
Cornwall  on  Hudson,  N.  Y.;  Miss  Mira  Hershey,  350  S.  Grand  Ave.,  Los 
Angeles;  Miss  Amelia  B.  Hollenbeck,  Glen  Summit,  Pa.;  H.  E.  Huntington, 
Los  Angeles;  Homer  Laughlin,  Laughlin  Bldg.,  Los  Angeles;  J.  M.  C. 
Marble,  2202  Figueroa  St.,  Los  Angeles;  Mrs.  D.  A.  Senter,  Pasadena,  Cal.; 
Thos.  Scattergood;  Geo.  W.  Marston,  San  Diego,  Cal.;  H.  C.  Gordon,  San 
Diego,  Cal. 


IN  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE 

By  WAY  LAND  H.  SMITH, 
Secretary  of  the  Scquoya  League. 

HEN  Senator  Bard  was  succeeded  by  Senator  Flint  in 
1905,  Mr.  Lummis  suggested  that  as  a  representative  of 
the  Sequoya  League  I  should  see  him  and  make  sure 
what  his  attitude  was  on  the  Indian  question.  I  found 
the  newly-elected  Senator  not  only  ready  to  be  inter 
ested,  but  interested  already.  He  had  thought  much  and  to  the 
point,  on  the  subject,  and  was  determined  that  the  existing  disgrace 
should  be  removed,  as  much,  at  least,  as  present  action  could  remove 
it,  from  California's  maleficent  Indian  record. 

During  the  fall  of  1905  Senator  Flint,  Mr.  Lummis  and  I  made  a 
trip  to  some  of  the  most  characteristic  Indian  reservations  in  San 
Diego  County.  We  traveled  by  wagon,  over  jack-rabbit  trails,  into 
the  remote  and  scattered  Campo  reservations,  where  these  un 
fortunate  people  were  located  by  the  mistake  of  a  careless  surveyor  in 
San  Diego  and  left  to  starve  with  Indian  stoicism  among  the  rocks. 
We  also  visited  Pachanga  reservation,  and  other  examples  of  the 
unhappy  Indian  situation. 

"When  I  go  to  Washington,"  Senator  Flint  said  to  me,  "I  do  not 
want  to  ask  congressional  action  on  what  I  have  been  told.  I  want 
to  see  how  things  are  for  myself." 

The  results  of  this  trip  have  been  definite.  The  time,  indeed,  was 
ripe.  The  public  conscience  was  awakened.  President  Roosevelt 
was  warmly  sympathetic.  The  Indian  Commissionership  wras  in  the 
competent  and  experienced  hands  of  Mr.  F.  E.  Leupp,  and  the  legis 
lative  mind  was  prepared  by  the  widespread  newspaper  reports  of 
the  starvation  at  Campo,  discovered  and  relieved  by  the  Sequoya 
League  not  long  before. 

Instead  of  the  customary  stone  wall  of  official  indifference  and 
inaction,  Senator  Flint  found  intelligent  co-operation.  He  was  able 
to  get  through  Congress  a  bill  appropriating  $100,000  for  the  pur 
chase  of  lands  and  the  development  of  water.  To  this  $50,000  was 
subsequently  added,  making  $150,000  in  all.  Mr.  C.  E.  Kelsey, 
peculiarly  equipped  and  qualified  for  the  work,  was  made  special 
Indian  Commissioner  for  California,  and  in  his  hands  the  practical 
disbursement  of  this  sum  was  placed. 

The  Sequoya  League  is  able  to  give  detailed  and  official  state 
ments  from  Mr.  Leupp,  the  Indian  Commissioner,  and  Mr.  Kelsey, 
the  Special  Commissioner,  covering  the  work  that  has  been  done 
so  far  and  that  remains  to  be  done,  to  relieve  the  Indian  situation 
that  has  so  long  disgraced  California.  Mr.  Kelsey's  report  is  con 
fined  to  the  Mission  Indians  in  Southern  California.  Mr.  Leupp's 
covers  briefly  the  entire  State.  To  these  has  been  added  a  statement 


IN  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE  3 

of  the  engineering  work  on  the  reservations,  made  by  Air.  Olberg 
under  the  supervision  of  Chief  Engineer  Code  of  the  Indian  Service. 
These  make  together  a  most  authoritative  and  complete  statement 
of  the  Indian  status  given  by  the  men  most  competent  to  speak  and 
covering  thoroughly  all  aspects  of  the  work.  ^rf  ••'; 

UNITED  STATES  SENATE. 

COMMITTEE  ON   THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY, 

January    n,    1909'. 
Way  land  H.  Smith. 

Dear  Sir: — Further  replying  to  your  letter  of  October  3ist,  I  beg  to  advise- 
that  I  submitted  a  request  to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  to  furnish 
me  the  information  which  you  desired,  but  he  has  been  delayed  somewhat  in 
sending  me  the  report,  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  states  he  desired  to 
strengthen  the  case  as  much  as  possible  and  submit  a  very  full  and  detailed 
account  of  the  whole  work  done  for  the  California  Indians  and  the  reason 
therefor. 

I  enclose  you  herewith  copy  of  the  report  I  have  just  received  from  him, 
which  I  trust  will  be  of  service  to  you. 

Yours  truly, 

FRANK  P.  FLINT. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR 
OFFICE  OF  INDIAN  AFFAIRS. 

Subject:  WASHINGTON,   January  5,  1909. 

Results  accomplished  for 
California    Indians    with 
special  appropriation. 
HON.  FRANK  P.  FLINT, 

United   States  Senator. 

Sir: — I  have  your  letter  of  the  ist  inst.  asking  for  a  report  of  the  work 
undertaken  for  the  Indians  of  California  with  the  appropriation  of  $100,000 
carried  in  the  Act  of  June  21,  1906,  and  the  additional  appropriation  of 
$50,000  by  the  Act  of  April  30,  1908,  in  order  that  you  may  transmit  this 
information  to  Mr.  Wayland  H.  Smith  of  Los  Angeles,  secretary  of  an  organi 
zation  which  has  the  interest  of  these  Indians  at  heart. 

You  intimate  that  special  use  is  to  be  made  of  this  report,  and  that  it  ma> 
be  published.  Because  of  this  I  shall  set  forth  at  some  length  the  results 
which  have  been  accomplished,  together  with  some  intimation  of  what  remains 
to  be  done. 

When  California  was  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  the  Treaty  of  Guada- 
lupe  Hidalgo,  the  Indian  occupants  of  that  State  had  certain  rights  to  the 
lands  which  they  occupied,  and,  under  the  law  then  existing,  they  could  not 
legally  be  evicted  therefrom.  When,  attracted  by  the  discovery  of  its  won 
derful  mineral  resources,  white  settlers  poured  into  California,  the  usual 
happened  and  the  weaker  native  people  in  a  multitude  of  cases  were  crowded 
out  of  their  homes.  In  the  confusion  and  excitement  attendant  on  the  mining 
enterprises— to  give  the  facts  the  most  charitable  coloring— treaties  which  had 
been  concluded  with  the  various  tribes  and  bands  were  ignored  or  failed  of 
ratification,  the  Indians  were  never  paid  for  the  lands  which  they  had  ceded,, 
and  those  which  were  to  have  been  reserved  for  them  were  allowed  to 
remain  a  part  of  the  public  domain,  and  in  the  course  of  time  were  all,  or 
nearly  all,  appropriated  by  later  settlers. 


4  IN  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE. 

For  the  Indians  of  Southern  California  much  was  accomplished  by  what 
is  known  as  the  "Smiley  Commission,"  appointed  under  the  Act  of  January  13, 
1891,  upon  whose  report  the  same  year  the  President  based  his  order  setting 
apart  what  are  known  as  the  Mission  Reservations.  For  the  Indians  of  the 
northern  part  of  the  State,  however,  no  provision  was  made  at  that  time. 

Although  it  is  impossible  now  to  undo  all  that  has  passed  and  restore  to  the 
original  owners  of  the  soil  the  possession  of  any  appreciable  part  of  it,  the 
Congress  by  the  Acts  of  June  21,  1906  (34  Stat.  L.,  225,  333)  and  April  30, 
1908  (35  Stat.  L.  70,  76),  made  provision  whereby  homes  have  been  provided 
for  many  homeless  Indians,  and  a  fair  start  in  life  afforded  them  even  at 
this  late  date. 

These  acts,  carrying  appropriations  amounting  to  $150,000,  were  framed 
in  consonance  with  the  existing  conditions  in  California,  where  a  tract  of 
good  land  of  2  to  10  acres  in  area  is  sufficient  to  afford  support  to  a  frugal 
family.  This  has  been  the  design  of  the  Office,  through  Special  Agent 
Kelsey,  in  expending  the  money  thus  appropriated--to  purchase  fertile  lands 


WATKR  ON  A  RESERVATION 

which  were  susceptible  of  division  into  what  the  Agent  has  termed  "minute 
allotments,"  and  to  provide  systems  of  irrigation  for  the  lands  already  set 
apart  to  Indians,  sufficiently  fertile  in  character  yet  heretofore  barren  lor 
lack  of  water.  I  shall  now  set  out  the  specific  purchases  of  land  and  irriga 
tion  projects  for  which  the  money  available  has  been  expended,  treating 
the  Indians  of  the  northern  and  southern  parts  of  the  State  separately  be 
cause  of  the  diverse  conditions  prevailing. 

NORTHERN    CALIFORNIA    INDIANS. 

Of  the  Indians  in  Humboldt  county,  33  souls  constitute  what  is  known  as 
the  Blue  Lake  Band.  In  his  efforts  to  procure  land  for  these  Indians,  the 
Special  Agent  met  with  great  difficulty,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  land  of 
Humboldt  county  is  largely  barren  ridges  surrounding  small  fertile  valleys 
held  at  $200  per  acre  and  more.  At  length,  however,  he  succeeded  in  obtain 
ing  an  offer  from  the  Brizzard  heirs  to  sell  29.5  acres  of  land  fairly  suitable, 
and  acceptable  to  the  Indians,  and  this  purchase  has  been  authorized  at  an 
expenditure  of  $1500. 

Landless  since  the  failure  of  their  treaty  concluded  October  6,  1851,  which 


IN  RE   CALIFORNIA  INDIANS   TO  DATE  5 

treaty  shared  the  fate  of  all  others  at  this  time,  the  Yurok  Indians,  now 
known  as  the  Trinidad  Band,  have  dwindled  in  number  until  there  are  left 
but  36  individuals,  two  of  whom  have  acquired  lands  in  their  own  names. 
Antagonistic  to  the  other  Indians  in  Humboldt  county,  it  has  been  necessary 
to  provide  for  them  separately.  To  this  end  Agent  Kelsey  has  induced  the 
Vance  Redwood  Lumber  Company  to  sell  to  the  Government  59.92  acres  of 
land  for  $1200,  and  authority  for  the  purchase  has  issued.  The  land  is  fair; 
with  an  annual  rainfall  of  80  inches,  there  is  no  irrigation  problem,  and 
the  fact  that  it  borders  on  the  ocean  works  to  the  happiness  of  this  fish- 
loving  tribe. 

In  lower  Eel  River  Valley,  in  Humboldt  county,  are  to  be  found  88  Indians 
who  are  the  remnants  of  three  or  four  bands  once  populous  and  representing 
two  diverse  stocks  of  the  race,  always  inimical.  For  this  reason  it  has  been 
thought  not  feasible  to  attempt  to  assemble  them  upon  one  tract  of  land; 
but,  instead,  the  purpose  is  to  buy  two,  and  possibly  three,  pieces  of  land  in 
Eel  River  Valley.  The  purchase  of  one  tract  of  80  acres  is  practically  closed 


Ox  AGUA  CAIJENTK  RKSKRVATION 

at  a  cost  of  $3000,  and  the  land  thus  acquired  from  Patrick  Quinn  is  of  such 
good  quality  that  it  is  thoifght  eight  or  ten  families  can  be  allotted  thereon. 

From  time  immemorial  the  Colusa  Band  of  Indians  has  lived  along  the 
Sacramento  River  in  Colusa  county.  They  ceded  their  lands  to  the  United 
States  by  a  treaty  concluded  September  9,  1851,  and  were  to  receive  in  return 
a  large  quantity  of  goods  and  to  have  reserved  along  the  river  a  tract  of 
20,000  acres.  This  treaty,  like  many  others  with  California  Indians,  failed  in 
the  Senate,  and  the  Indians  received  nothing,  yet  lost  their  lands.  At  this 
time  they  numbered  1000;  now  only  60  remain.  They  have  been  living  in 
two  small  bands,  grudgingly  tolerated  on  fractions  of  two  large  ranches. 
The  smaller  band  has  been  enclosed  in  a  barbed-wire  fence  on  their  burial 
mound,  their  only  water  being  from  a  ten-foot  well  sunk  among  the  graves. 
As  a  foothold,  and,  it  is  hoped,  a  stop  to  the  extinction  so  rapidly  pro 
gressing  under  their  harassment,  there  has  been  purchased  for  this  band 
from  Jeremiah  Moynihan  40  acres  of  land,  said  to  be  the  equal  of  any  in 
•Colusa  county,  at  a  cost  of  $3800. 

For  as  long  as  history  traces  them,  the  Cortina  Band  of  Indians  has  lived 


6  IN  RE  C  ALIFORM  A  INDIANS  TO  DATE. 

within  what  is  now  Colusa  county.  Forty-six  years  ago  they  were  evicted 
from  their  original  ranchena,  but,  remaining  as  close  thereto  as  might  be, 
they  settled  within  a  distance  of  three  miles.  For  this  band  it  has  been 
possible  to  buy  the  very  land  they  occupy,  and  with  it  enough  in  addition 
to  make  480  acres,  the  grantors  reserving  certain  water  privileges  which  will 
not  work  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  Indian  occupants.  The  price  agreed 
upon  was  $4800.  Fencing  has  cost  $300  more.  The  Indians  are  better  pleased 
with  this  arrangement  than  they  would  have  been  with  better  land  elsewhere. 
Considerable  difficulty  was  encountered  in  providing  for  the  Indians  of  the 
Smith  River  Band,  numbering  246,  living  in  several  groups  along  Smith 
River  in  Del  Norte  county.  After  the  selection  of  240  acres  of  good  agri 
cultural  land  had  been  made,  a  protest  was  filed  on  the  score  that  the  price 
to  be  paid,  $7200,  was  excessive.  Investigations  covering  some  months  did 
not  sustain  this  contention,  but  it  did  develop  that  the  Indians  preferred 
land  on  the  river  or  the  Pacific  Ocean,  because,  as  they  said,  they  had  been 
a  fish-eating  race  from  remote  ages  and  did  not  wish  to  be  deprived  of 


A  RESERVOIR  ON  THE  TORRES  RESERVATION 

fishing  facilities.  Accordingly,  a  new  selection  was  made  of  163.96  acres 
belonging  to  Mr.  William  Westbrook,  which  was  purchased  at  the  same  cost. 
The  Indians  express  complete  satisfaction  with  this  latest  provision. 

The  Indians  of  the  Pollasky  or  Millerton  Band,  living  near  Pollasky, 
Fresno  county,  numbering  33,  have  been  accustomed  to  eke  out  their  attempts 
to  support  themselves  by  agrir-.ilture,  with  tribute  levied  upon  the  salmon 
of  the  San  Joaquin  River.  This  largely  influenced  the  purchase  for  them  ot 
140  acres  belonging  to  Mr.  Adam  Bellinger  across  the  river  in  Madera 
county,  at  a  cost  of  $150x3.  This  tract  contains  garden  land,  80  acres  of  hay 
land  and  pasturage,  and  wood  in  abundance.  In  addition  there  has  been 
withdrawn  from  all  forms  of  settlement  for  the  benefit  of  these  Indians  80 
acres  of  Government  land  adjoining  that  purchase,  making  a  total  area  for 
their  use  of  220  acres. 

When  the  white  man  came  to  the  present  Siskiyou  county  he  found  living- 
there  Ruffy's  Band,  who  are  descendants  of  Indians  who  had  occupied  the 
same  spot  from  time  primeval.  When  consideration  is  had  of  the  devotion 
of  the  Indian  to  his  ancestral  home,  however  barren  or  desolate,  it  is  a 


IN  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE  7 

matter  for  felicitation  that  Agent  Kelsey  succeeded  in  negotiating  success 
fully  for  the  very  land  which  has  been  the  home  of  this  band  for  so  long — the 
more  so  as  the  land  is  of  good  quality.  This  was  accomplished  through  the 
purchase  of  441  acres  from  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  Company  at  a  cost 
of  only  $2205.  The  42  Indians  of  this  band  thus  acquired  legitimate  title 
to  their  dwelling  places. 

Beneficiaries  of  the  largess  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of  San  Fran 
cisco,  the  120  Indians  constituting  what  is  known  as  the  Hopland  Band,  have 
been  living  for  some  years  on  an  eight-acre  tract  belonging  to  that  prelate, 
near  the  village  of  Hopland,  in  Mendocino  county.  Most  of  the  land  in 
the  vicinity  is  held  in  large  tracts,  the  owners  of  which  do  not  care  to 
subdivide.  The  Special  Agent  for  the  California  Indians,  however,  succeeded 
in  purchasing  630  acres  from  Mr.  Jesse  W.  Daw  at  a  cost  of  $5750.  This 
land  is  about  a  mile  in  a  direct  line  from  the  old  village,  and  the  Indians 
had  expressed  their  willingness  to  accept  allotments  thereon.  The  ranch 
is  wholly  fenced,  and  adjoins  some  very  poor  Government  land  which  it  is 


INDIAN  FARM  AT  AT^AMO  BONITA 

the  purpose  of  the  Office  to  have  set  aside  for  such  use  as  the  Indians  can 
make  of  it.  The  Daw  tract  contains  200  acres  suitable  for  hay,  grain,  fruit  and 
vines,  and  has  springs,  woods  and  pastures. 

When,  some  years  ago,  the  18  Indians  constituting  what  is  known  as  the 
Point  Arena  Band,  in  Mendocino  county,  were  evicted  from  their  homes  on 
the  Bree  Ranch,  a  temporary  home  on  a  4O-acre  tract  on  the  Garcia  River 
was  provided  by  the  Northern  California  Indian  Association.  This  land  is 
claimed  by  Mr.  Bree,  and,  even  if  possession  might  be  retained,  is  ill  suited 
for  the  occupancy  of  the  Indians  because  the  river  bed  occupies  half  the 
tract  and  the  remainder  is  mostly  steep  banks  and  bluffs,  without  pasture, 
wood,  or  garden  soil.  Through  Agent  Kelsey  arrangements  have  been  com 
pleted  for  the  purchase  from  W.  E.  Foster  of  35  acres  adjoining  the  present 
village.  On  this  land  is  a  strip  of  timber  estimated  to  contain  2500  railroad 
ties  worth  50  cents  apiece.  In  addition,  there  is  hay  and  garden  land,  and 
four  acres  are  now  in  alfalfa.  The  price  to  be  paid,  and  for  which  authority 
has  issued,  is  $2625.  This  land  adjoins  some  on  which  there  is  a  day  school 


8  IN  RE   CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE. 

for  Indians,  and  thus  is  obviated  the  necessity  of  moving  either  Indians 
or  school. 

Near  Laytonville,  in  Mendocino  county,  has  been  for  some  time  the  home 
of  what  is  known  as  the  Cahto  Band  of  Indians,  numbering  88.  Yet  when 
it  was  learned  that  the  Government  designed  buying  a  home  for  the  Indians, 
the  owners  of  the  hills  where  they  lived  placed  a  prohibitive  price  thereon. 
With  the  approval  of  the  Indians,  therefore,  arrangements  were  made  for 
purchasing  200  acres  of  good  land,  well  improved,  not  far  distant  from  their 
present  home,  from  J.  H.  Braden,  at  a  cost  of  $2500.  Two  bearing  orchards 
are  secured  by  this  purchase. 

Living  for  50  years  or  more  on  the  Phelan  Ranch,  a  part  of  the  original 
Guenoc  Rancho,  in  Lake  county,  the  band  of  Indians,  now  51  strong,  vari 
ously  known  as  the  Guenoc,  Loconomi  or  Millerton  Band,  have  come  to  feel 
the  strongest  attachment  therefor.  It  was  not  possible  to  buy  the  precise 
tract  on  which  their  homes  are,  but  the  Central  Counties  Land  Company  has 
agreed  to  sell  45  acres  adjoining  for  $2000,  which  is  considered  reasonable 
for  the  quality  of  the  land  secured.  The  Indians  having  expressed  a  willing 
ness  to  accept  small  allotments  on  the  land  to  be  acquired,  authority  has  been 
obtained  for  concluding  the  purchase. 

The  largest  rancheria  in  California,  that  of  the  Upper  Land  Band,  in  Lake 
county,  has  been  the  worst  example  of  over-crowding,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  this  is  one  of  the  few  bands  owning  land,  they  having  title  to  92 
acres  which  they  were  persuaded  by  a  Methodist  minister  to  purchase  years 
ago  when  land  was  cheap.  This  over-crowded  condition  was  due  partly  to 
the  size  of  the  band,  which  now  numbers  284,  and  partly  to  the  topography 
of  the  land,  which  required  the  Indians  to  group  their  dwellings  on  the  steep 
hill-sides  surrounding  a  few  acres  of  arable  land.  The  Office  has  felt  war 
ranted  in  recommending  an  expenditure  of  $5000  for  this  band,  because  for 
that  sum  it  is  to  procure  from  Charles  C.  Hardesty  143.69  acres  of  land 
adjoining  the  rancheria,  much  of  which  is  of  the  best  quality,  and  the  re 
mainder  contains  a  good  stand  of  timber  and  affords  an  excellent  site  for  a 
day  school  which  it  is  proposed  to  establish.  As  the  lands  of  the  Indians 
and  thiat  to  be  bought  are  contiguous,  no  problem  as  to  moving  the  Indians 
is  to  be  encountered. 

In  a  fairly  good  fruit  district,  with  springs  and  a  fine  orange  grove,  the 
74  acres  of  land  now  under  purchase  from  W.  B.  and  Mary  A.  Bayley  will 
provide  a  good  home  for  the  26  Indians  known  as  the  Rumsey  Band,  in  Yolo 
county.  It  is  even  thought  that  relatives  of  this  band  in  Colusa  county  may 
wish  to  come  here.  The  price  of  $2000,  which  has  been  set  aside  to  complete 
this  purchase,  is  considered  reasonable. 

On  the  bottom  lands  of  Stony  Creek,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Grindstone 
Creek — whence  the  name — for  60  years  have  lived  the  Indians  of  the  Grind 
stone  Band,  in  Glenn  county,  now  composed  of  17  families,  or  40  individuals. 
At  present  forlorn  and  poverty-stricken,  because  of  lack  of  irrigation  facili 
ties,  their  condition  will  shortly  change  as  a  result  of  the  purchase  under 
way  for  them,  for  the  land  so  acquired  will  become  valuable  and  productive 
after  the  completion  of  the  Orland  project  of  the  Reclamation  Service,  it 
was  thought  the  part  of  wisdom  to  anticipate  this  event,  and  authority  has 
been  granted  for  the  purchase  of  80  acres  at  a  cost  of  $1050. 

SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA    INDIANS. 

The  problem  in  Southern  California  has  been  to  make  productive  and 
comfortable  the  various  small  and  barren  reservations  on  which  the  Indians 
of  this  section  of  the  State  are  for  the  most  part  settled.  In  an  effort 


IN  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE  9 

toward  its  solution,  expenditures  have  been  divided  between  the  purchase 
of  contiguous  land  of  better  quality  and  the  irrigation  of  the  lands  already 
reserved. 

For  years  a  controversy  was  waged  between  this  Office  and  Burleigh  B. 
Barney  concerning  the  rights  to  the  water  which  was  absolutely  essential 
to  the  welfare  of  the  40  Indians  on  the  Palm  Springs  or  Ag-ua  Calient e  Res 
ervation  No.  2,  in  Riverside  county.  Mr.  Barney  was  loath  to  surrender  for 
the  sum  this  Office  was  warranted  in  expending  for  his  project,  called  the 
"Garden  of  Eden,"  to  which  he  had  devoted  years  of  time  and  considerable 
money.  At  length,  however,  he  consented  to  accept  $6000  for  a  section  ot 
land  and  his  water  rights,  the  latter  being  the  main  desideratum.  By  this 
expenditure  the  Indians  of  this  band  have  had  restored  to  them  the  water 
carried  by  Barney's  eight-inch  pipe  line,  and  in  addition  a  section  of  land  on 
which  to  use  the  water. 

The  title  to  all  the  lands  on  the  Morongo  Reservation  vests  in  the  United 
States,  except  that  to  ten  acres  occupied  by  a  Mrs.  Toutaine.  a  white  woman. 


ENTRANCE  TO  INFILTRATION  GAIJVERY  AT  SAN  MANUEL, 

It  was  thought  advisable  to  acquire  title  to  this  ten-acre  lot  before  allotting 
these  Indians,  and  as  amply  sufficient  to  that  end  the  sum  of  $1200  was  set 
aside.  However,  as  this  woman  stoutly  refuses  to  part  with  her  rights  for 
less  than  $20,000,  this  deal  will  fail  of  consummation. 

The  640  acres  constituting  the  original  San  Manuel  Reservation  is  perhaps 
the  most  worthless  in  the  State,  consisting  of  steep,  barren  hills.  So  poor 
is  the  land  that  the  Indians  have  been  compelled  to  raise  their  little  crops 
on  adjacent  tracts,  for  the  land  contiguous  to  the  reservation  is  often  as 
productive  as  the  Indian  land  is  sterile.  For  this  reason  it  has  been  possible 
to  acquire  lands  suitable  for  raising  vegetables  and  fruits  by  the  purchase  ot 
two  small  tracts  of  land,  aggregating  less  than  13  acres,  from  Messrs.  McClel- 
lan  Yorke  and  R.  L.  Rutherford,  at  a  cost  of  $1915.  By  this  transaction  the 
Indians  have  been  given  title  to  the  land  containing  their  graveyard — always 
of  supreme  importance  to  this  race. 

Examination  of  the  records  of  the  Land  Office  disclosed  the  fact  that 
more  than  1000  acres  of  the  San  Jacinto  Reservation  has  been  patented  to 
the  Southern  Pacific  Railway  as  a  part  of  its  land  grant,  probably  through 


10  IN  RE  CALIFORNIA   INDIANS  TO  DATE. 

inadvertence,  the  Indians  having  at  all  times  been  in  possession.  There  being 
no  land  available  to  make  good  the  loss  which  never  could  be  satisfactorily 
explained  to  the  Indians,  should  possession  be  insisted  upon  by  the  railroad 
company,  steps  have  been  taken  to  re-acquire  this  land,  as  well  as  numerous 
other  small  tracts  enjoyed  by  the.  Indians  in  various  localities  also  patented 
to  the  railroad  company,  by  exchanging  therefor  Indian  lands  for  which 
there  is  less  need. 

The  Pechanga  Reservation,  although  it  looks  large  on  paper,  is  composed 
of  low,  rough,  barren  hills.  The  only  land  that  can  be  plowed  is  in  or 
adjoining  the  sandy  wash,  or  bed  of  a  mountain  torrent  running  through 
the  reservation.  The  quality  of  the  soil  is  very  poor  and  crops  have  failed 
about  three  years  in  five.  The  entire  arable  area  does  not  exceed  250  acres 
out  of  3360  constituting  the  reservation.  Few  tracts  were  for  sale,  and  those 
on  the  market  were  held  at  prohibitive  prices.  In  spite  of  these  difficulties 
there  has  been  acquired,  substantially  fenced,  with  valuable  water  rights  and 
with  improvements  valued  at  $2500,  235  acres  of  the  best  land  in  Temecula 
county  from  Mr.  Philip  Pohlman,  at  a  cost  of  $6650.  This  purchase  is  pecu 
liarly  practical  and  satisfactory. 

A  township  of  land  depends  for  its  value  upon  its  location  and  the  char 
acter  of  its  soil.  A  township  of  mountain  tops  contains  as  many  square  miles 
as  any  other  township,  but  is  not  of  much  use  to  its  owner  or  occupants. 

The  reservation  of  Los  Coyotes  contains  nearly  a  township,  but  is  literally 
composed  of  mountain  tops  of  from  4500  to  8000  feet  elevation.  In  the 
whole  reservation  are  perhaps  275  acres  of  agricultural  land,  and  most  of  this 
was  patented  to  white  men  before  the  establishment  of  the  reservation.  It 
is  160  acres  of  this  land  within  the  reservation  which  has  been  bought  for 
these  Indians  from  the  owner,  John  Mason,  at  a  cost  of  only  $800.  This 
was  a  fortunate  conclusion  in  at  least  one  phase,  as  the  Indians — the  only 
ones  in  Southern  California  showing  a  belligerent  spirit — had  for  some  years 
used  this  land  and  had  prevented  the  owner  from  deriving  any  benefit  there 
from,  they  feeling  strongly  that  no  one  should  have  been  permitted  to  file 
on  this,  the  site  of  their  ancient  rancheria.  In  securing  their  title  it  is 
probable  that  serious  trouble  has  been  averted. 

The  straits  to  which  the  Indians  of  the  Campo  Reservation  were  forced 
by  the  barrenness  of  their  lands  is  yet  fresh  in  the  public  mind.  No  surprise 
will  be  manifested,  therefore,  that  the  largest  area  purchased  and  the  greatest 
expense  incurred  thus  far  has  been  for  the  benefit  of  these  Indians.  It  has 
been  possible,  by  the  expenditure  of  $14,500,  to  obtain  a  tract  of  land  that 
seems  admirably  adapted  to  the  purpose  of  redeeming  from  extreme  poverty 
the  165  Indians  who  constitute  the  population  of  the  Campo  Reservations. 
Several  parcels  of  land  were  offered  and  an  inspection  was  made  of  the 
whole  field.  The  site  finally  selected  is  what  is  known  as  the  "Becker 
Valley,''  with  a  gravity  supply  of  water  sufficient  for  from  ico  to  120  acres 
of  hay  land  and  other  land  of  about  300  acres.  The  actual  area  purchased 
is  1040  acres,  and  comprises  three  separate  purchases  of  720  acres  from 
J.  P.  Becker,  160  acres  from  Lizzie  A.  Dyball,  and  160  acres  from  Dora  Barry. 

Evicted  years  ago  from  their  ancient  home  by  armed  court  officers,  the 
San  Pasqual  Indians  have  died  and  scattered  until  only  22  now  live  in  San 
Diego  county.  The  land  taken  from  them  by  force  now  sells  for  $500  an 
acre,  and  more.  Seventeen  years  ago  they  were  given  a  reservation,  but  the 
surveyor  made  a  mistake  in  the  township  number,  and  the  Executive  Order 
consequently  gave  them  land  six  miles  from  where  it  was  intended,  and 
where  the  Indians  were  living.  The  resulting  situation  is  anomalous.  To 


IN  RE   CALIFORNIA  INDIANS   TO  DATE 


11 


buy  the  land  the  Indians  are  on  is  out  of  the  question,  because  of  its  great 
•value.  Most  of  the  land  actually  reserved  for  them  through  this  error  had 
been  patented  already  to  individuals.  Settlers  who  by  chance  had  not  re 
ceived  patents  have  held  their  land  since  under  squatters'  rights.  Among 
the  latter  class  Wilburn  Reed  has  been  conspicuous,  because  his  has  been 
the  strong  spirit  about  which  the  squatters  have  grouped  in  a  determination 
to  resist  placing  the  Indians  on  the  lands  occupied  by  them,  and  because  he, 
by  thrift  and  industry,  has  made  his  160  acres  worth,  in  the  estimate  of 
Agent  Kelsey,  at  least  $5coo.  Most  of  his  tract  is  in  oranges. 

As  a  preliminary  step  to  clearing  this  reservation  of  adverse  occupants, 
it  was  necessary  to  eliminate  Reed.  He  proved  to  be  exceedingly  fair,  and 
when  it  was  found  that  he  would  transfer  his  improvements  and  give  a  quit 
claim  deed  for  $1500,  authority  therefor  was  promptly  procured.  It  is  believed 
that  little  difficulty  will  be  encountered  in  buying  out  the  other  settlers  as 
need  shall  arise  to  provide  for  these  Indians. 

The  question  of  the  water-supply  is  vital  to  almost  every  inhabitant  of 
Southern  California,  and  an  appreciable  part  of  the  funds  appropriated  for 


*m, 
PUMPING  PLANT  AT 

the  California  Indians  has  been  expended  in  this  channel;  otherwise  some 
of  the  purchases  of  land  which  I  have  enumerated  would  have  been  highly 
unwise. 

The  Indians  of  the  Pauma  Reservation,  under  the  supervision  of  the  agent, 
even  prior  to  the  appropriation  for  the  benefit  of  the  California  Indians,  had 
excavated  a  reservoir  of  100  feet  diameter  at  the  upper  corner  of  their  reser 
vation,  where  it  may  be  filled  from  Pauma  Creek.  To  assist  them  in  their 
efforts  at  helping  themselves,  $438.43  has  been  devoted  to  purchasing  cement, 
tools  and  blasting  powder.  With  their  own  labor  they  have  completed  this 
important  work  w7ith  a  trivial  expenditure. 

As  a  preliminary  test  of  artesian  resources  on  the  Morongo  Reservation, 
with  a  view  to  making  productive  the  land  already  reserved  and  land  recently 
purchased,  $500  was  devoted  to  the  expense  of  boring  a  well.  When  results 
have  been  sufficiently  observed,  it  will  be  soon  enough  to  judge  of  the 
advisability  of  a  larger  expenditure  along  the  same  lines. 

The  scant  water  supply  on  the  Cahuilla  Reservation  made  a  reservoir  essen 
tial  The  Indians  of  their  own  accord  began  the  construction  of  a  reservoir 


12  /AT  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE. 

to  store  the  water  of  certain  living  springs  on  the  reservation,  and  as  at 
Pauma,  they  were  aided  by  the  expenditure  of  $600  to  provide  materials 
and  tools. 

At  one  time  the  Indians  on  the  Cabazon  Reservation  had  obtained  water 
from  artesian  wells,  but  the  tapping  of  the  source  by  the  incoming  white 
settlers  in  time  so  reduced  the  supply  of  water  that  all  the  wells  of  this 
section  ceased  to  flow  during  the  season  when  water  is  needed.  As  the 
whites  had  resorted  to  pumps,  it  was  plain  the  Indians  would  have  to  do 
likewise  if  they  were  to  get  any  water.  Accordingly  authority  was  granted 
for  the  installation  of  a  pumping  plant. 

San  Augustine  Reservation  has  never  had  a  water  supply,  as  a  consequence 
of  which  the  Indians  accredited  to  this  reservation  have  left  it  in  large 
numbers.  It  was  decided  to  bore  wells,  but  as  the  flow  to  be  tapped  is  the 
same  which  supplies  Cabazon  and  is  subject  to  the  same  great  demand,  it 
was  thought  to  be  the  part  of  wisdom  to  establish  a  pumping  plant  coinci- 
dentally  with  the  boring.  The  entire  cost  of  this  work  on  both  the  Cabazon 
and  the  San  Augustine  Reservations  is  estimated  to  come  within  $2783.65, 
which  sum  has  been  set  aside  for  this  purpose.  The  work  is  well  along 
toward  completion. 

I  have  now  set  forth  in  detail  the  various  objects  for  which  has  been 
disbursed  the  money  entrusted  to  my  care  for  the  California  Indians,  except 
that  which  has  been  spent  in  making  effective  the  various  enterprises,  as  in 
commissions,  recorders'  fees,  title  insurance,  surveying  and  fencing.  The 
money  so  far  expended  in  these  incidental  channels  and  in  the  payment  ot 
salary,  traveling  expenses  and  subsistence  of  the  Special  Agent,  amounts  to 
$12,965.45,  and  there  are  outstanding  obligations  against  this  fund  for  similar 
purposes  amounting  to  $3/81.10.  A  recapitulation  of  the  purchase  of  ihe 
lands  which  I  have  outlined  shows  $80,787.98  to  have  been  expended  or 
authorized  for  this  purpose,  and  the  amount  expended  or  authorized  to  be 
expended  for  irrigation  purposes  amounts  to  $8426.03.  This  makes  a  total 
expended  or  set  aside  for  different  projects  of  $105,960.56,  leaving  on  this 
date  a  balance  available  of  $44,049.44. 

This  very  inadequate  sum  it  will  be  the  effort  of  the  Office  to  expend 
to  the  best  advantage  upon  the  Indians  in  California  yet  unprovided  for. 
of  which  the  most  needy  bands  are  reported  by  the  Special  Agent  to  be 
located  as  follows : 

Crescent  City,  Del  Norte  county;  Lolitia,  Bucksport,  and  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Mad  River,  in  Humboldt  county ;  Sherwood,  De  Haven,  Westport,  Ft. 
Bragg,  Noyo  and  Potter  Valley,  in  Mendocino  county;  Stewart's  Point.  Dry 
Creek,  Cloverdale,  Sebastopol  and  Bolinas,  in  Sonoma  county;  Lakeport  and 
Silver  Bank,  in  Lake  county;  Paskenta,  in  Tehama  county;  Elk  Creek,  in 
Glenn  county ;  lone,  Rickey  and  Jackson  Valley,  in  Amador  county ;  Lemoore, 
in  Kings  county ;  Sanger,  in  Fresno  county ;  Mariposa,  in  Mariposa  county  : 
Groveland,  Cherokee  and  Tuolumne,  in  Tuolumne  county;  Murphey's  and 
Sheep  Ranch,  in  Calaveras  county;  Nashville,  in  Eldorado  county. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  outline  the  various  ways  in  which  the  Office  has 
supplemented  the  expenditure  of  this  money  by  devices  actuated  by  its  wish 
to  help  the  Indians  in  every  possible  manner.  I  may  say,  however,  that 
conspicuous,  perhaps  paramount,  among  these  policies  has  been  the  temporary 
withdrawal  from  all  forms  of  settlement  of  all  unappropriated  lands  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  various  reservations  and  the  villages  and  rancherias  of  the 
isolated  bands ;  so  that  when  accurate  descriptions  shall  have  been  obtained 
and  local  conditions  fullv  ascertained,  such  of  these  lands  as  could  be  ot 


IN  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE 


13 


service  to  the  Indians  may  be  patented  to  them  and  the  remainder  restored 
to  the  public  domain.  Very  respectfully, 

F.  E.  LEUPP, 
Commissioner. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR, 
OFFICE  OF  INDIAN  AFFAIRS. 

SAN  JOSE,  CALIF.,  Nov.   10,  1908. 
WAYLAND  H.  SMITH. 

Dear  Sir: — Yours  of  the  2nd  duly  received.  I  enclose  you  herewith  a 
sort  of  statement  of  what  has  been  done  in  Southern  California  in  the  last 
three  years  (somewhat  less).  I  have  tried  to  make  it  as  brief  as  possible, 
and  still  it  is  quite  extensive.  The  most  important  thing  remaining  is  the 
establishment  at  Campo.  The  last  tract  there  and  the  one  we  had  to  have 
was  not  finally  through  until  about  June.  It  belonged  to  an  estate  with  minor 
heirs  and  it  took  time.  The  new  reservation  has  been  included  within  the 
National  Forest,  which  will  make  it  much  easier  getting  along  with  the 


A  TORRKS  FARMER  AT  WORK 

cattle-men.  Another  year  ought  to  have  about  everything  done  on  the 
Southern  reservations  (that  at  present  seems  advisable,  though  new  needs 
may  develop  with  time).  There  is  quite  a  list  of  other  things  I  have  been 
in  touch  with  in  the  South  in  the  way  of  investigations,  reports,  settlements, 
etc.,  that  have  not  eventuated  in  any  definite  thing  mentioned  as  accom 
plished,  but  have  nevertheless  taken  a  good  deal  of  my  time. 

Very  truly, 

C.  E.  KELSEY. 


Bancroft  Library 


INDIAN    RESERVATIONS    IN    SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA,    AND    WHAT    HAS    BEEN    ACCOM 
PLISHED    IN    THE    LAST    THREE    YEARS. 

The  first  thing  requisite  was  a  careful  examination  of  the  thirty-four, 
more  or  less,  minute  tracts  in  Southern  California  which  have  been  set  aside 
for  Indian  use.  This  examination  revealed  many  things.  All  the  reserva 
tions  were  more  or  less  barren.  Few  had  any  adequate  water  supply,  and 
most  had  none.  There  were  twenty  cases  of  disputed  boundaries,  and  no 
less  than  thirteen  cases  where  Indians  were  found  to  be  wholly  or  in  part 


14  /Ar  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE. 

outside  the  tract  actually  reserved,  through  errors  in  surveys  and  location. 
To  meet  these  cases  Congress  passed  an  Act,  largely  through  the  efforts  of 
Senator  Flint,  amending  the  Act  of  1891,  and  authorizing  the  land  occupied 
by  the  Indians  in  such  cases  to  be  patented  to  them,  where  the  title  was 
still  in  the  Government. 

At  Campo  several  tracts  have  been  purchased,  aggregating  about  1200 
acres,  and  the  land  is  ready  for  occupancy.  The  first  unit  of  the  irrigation 
system  has  been  surveyed,  and  it  is  expected  work  will  begin  in  a  short 
time.  The  surrounding  government  land  as  far  north  as  the  reservations 
of  La  Posta  and  Manzanlta,  and  south  to  the  Mexican  line,  has  been  reserved, 
forming  a  consolidated  reservation  of  about  20,000  acres.  As  soon  as  the 
irrigation  work  is  under  way,  the  Indians  can  remove  to  their  new  homes, 
and  it  is  expected  that  a  Government  day  school  will  be  established.  The 
site  of  the  new  school  is  that  of  a  former  large  Indian  settlement,  and  is 
called  by  the  Indians  Hilth-la-wa,  meaning  "wedge-shaped,"  in  reference  to 
the  shape  of  the  valley. 

At  Campo  proper,  some  land  has  been  added  to  the  reservation  upon 
which  the  Indian  graveyard  is  located  and  upon  which  part  of  the  band 
was  living.  The  same  is  true  of  La  Posta,  Manzanita  and  Cuiapaipc.  The 
reservation  patented  at  La  Posta  was  a  pile  of  barren  rocks,  and  the  land  the 
Indians  actually  occupied  was  unprotected.  At  Laguna  one  forty-acre  tract 
was  added.  At  Inyaha  a  tract  was  added  to  the  reservation  to  give  the 
Indians  some  hay-land,  some  wood-land  and  some  pasture.  At  Capitan 
Grande  some  tracts  were  added  to  the  reservation  which  had  been  thrown 
out  through  error.  At  the  eastern  end  of  Capitan  Grande,  known  as  Los 
Conejos,  additions  of  arable  land  occupied  by  Indians  were  made  to  the 
reservation,  and  other  lands  to  protect  the  water-rights  of  the  Indians. 

At  Los  Coyotes  Reservation  a  tract  of  land  which  had  been  in  private 
ownership  since  before  the  establishment  of  the  reservation,  and  which  had 
been  the  cause  of  much  friction,  was  purchased. 

At  Pachanga,  near  Temecula,  where  the  land  is  particularly  barren  and 
the  water  supply  very  scanty,  235  acres  of  splendid  land  has  been  purchased. 
This  was  some  of  the  land  from  which  these  Indians  were  ejected,  much  as 
told  in  Ramona.  It  was  planned  to  pipe  the  water  from  a  spring  to  the  school 
for  school  and  Indian  use,  but  the  water  proved  to  be  too  scanty  in  supply 
to  justify  the  expense.  Two  wells  have  been  bored  on  the  old  reservation 
and  one  upon  the  new  tract,  the  latter  being  the  only  one  to  show  a  satis 
factory  supply. 

At  Pauma  the  reservoir  has  been  considerably  enlarged  and  put  into  con 
dition  so  it  will  be  of  some  use. 

At  Pala  the  former  error  in  locating  the  headgate  has  been  corrected  and 
proper  outlets  have  been  made  by  which  water  can  be  taken  from  the  main 
ditch.  The  expense  of  this  irrigating  plant  is  now  nearly  $30,000. 

The  Santa  Rosa  Indians  have  asked  for  and  are  to  receive  their  old  home 
at  Vandeventer  Flat,  called  by  them  Se-o-ya  ("Pleasant  View").  Land  has 
been  reserved  for  them  here,  and  water  sufficient  for  present  needs  appro 
priated. 

At  Cahuilla  the  reservoir  has  been  much  enlarged  and  water  prospected 
for  in  other  parts  of  the  reservation,  with,  as  yet,  little  success. 

At  Saboba  plans  are  being  made  for  a  considerable  increase  in  the  water 
supply. 

At  San  Manuel  two  tracts  were  purchased,  one  containing  the  former 
gardens  of  the  Indians,  and  the  other  their  graveyard  and  some  of  the  houses. 


IN  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE.  15 

At  Morongo  a  rather  extensive  system  of  water  development  has  been 
planned  which  will  largely  increase  the  value  of  the  reservation.  Some 
additions  have  recently  been  made  to  the  reservation. 

At  Mission  Creek  Reservation  a  small  water  system  is  to  be  put  in  and 
a  survey  made  of  the  reservation  line. 

At  Palm  Springs  the  adverse  water  rights  and  two  sections  of  land  have 
been  purchased,  and  all  "land  upon  which  it  would  be  possible  to  use  any  of 
the  Indian  water  has  been  set  aside  for  the  Indians.  They  now  have  all 
the  land  and  the  water,  practically,  and  further  troubles  are  unlikely. 

At  Cabazon  a  fine  gasoline  pumping-plant  has  been  put  in,  which  did  good 
service  last  year.  Its  capacity  is  now  being  enlarged.  A  new  day  school 
has  been  established  at  Cabazon. 

At  San  Augustin  an  artesian  well  was  put  in  last  year  with  an  auxiliary 
pumping-plant,  and  it  did  good  service.  This  is  also  being  enlarged  this 
season.  This  fine  section  was  without  water  prior  to  boring  the  well. 

At  Torres,  Martinez  and  Alamo  Bonito  about  forty  new  wells  are  now 
being  bored,  in  addition  to  the  twenty-two  bored  by  the  Government  six  years 


ARTESIAX  \VEi,rv  ox  TORRES  RESERVATION 

ago.  A  couple  of  steam  pumping-plants  are  to  be  put  in  on  the  higher  levels. 
In  no  place  is  so  small  an  amount  of  money  doing  so  much  good  as  that 
used  in  putting  down  these  wells  in  this  so-called  desert.  In  no  place  are 
the  Indians  making  better  use  of  their  water,  and  their  present  condition  of 
thrift  is  in  striking  contrast  to  their  situation  of  squalor  and  semi-starvation 
before  they  were  supplied  with  water. 

All  these  various  irrigation  developments  are  entirely  under  the  supervision 
of  and  are  planned  by  the  Irrigation  Division  of  the  Indian  Bureau,  of  which 
W.  H.  Code,  of  Hollywood,  is  Chief  Engineer,  and  of  which  Charles  R. 
Olberg,  Superintendent  of  Irrigation  for  California,  at  Los  Angeles,  is  directly 
in  charge. 

At  Santa  Yncz  the  perplexing  questions  as  to  boundary  lines  and  status 
of  the  Indian  title  have  all  been  satisfactorily  settled,  largely  through  ihe 
broad-minded  generosity  of  the  late  Bishop  Montgomery. 

The  Indians  of  San  Pascual  had  a  reservation  assigned  to  them,  but  an 
error  was  made  in  the  description  of  the  township  and  the  land  actually 
reserved  for  them  was  six  miles  north  of  the  one  intended.  In  the  meantime 


16  /AT  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE. 

nothing  of  value  was  left  in  the  intended  reservation,  and  several  would-be 
settlers  were  prevented  from  filing  on  their  claims  on  the  other  tract  actually 
reserved.  It  proved  impossible  to  secure  any  tract  in  the  San  Pascual  Valley 
at  any  reasonable  price,  but  it  has  been  possible  to  buy  one  or  two  intending 
settlers  on  the  actual  reservation,  and  this,  with  some  unoccupied  land  there, 
satisfactory  to  the  Indians,  will  give  the  San  Pascual  Indians  homes  at  last. 

The  lands  of  the  Chimehuevi  Indians  on  the  Colorado  River  were  threat 
ened  by  prospective  settlers,  and  their  lands  have  been  reserved  to  them  by 
executive  order,  pending  an  examination  as  to  their  needs,  which  examination 
has  not  as  yet  been  made. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  boundary  troubles  have  been  decided.  A 
re-survey  and  re-marking  of  the  reservation  lines  in  Southern  California 
has  been  arranged  for  and  will  doubtless  be  completed  within  the  coming 
year.  The  examination  of  the  lines  at  Mesa  Grande  has  been  finished,  and 
that  perplexing  matter  settled  for  all  time.  It  has  not  been  possible  to 
examine  all  the  reservations  as  yet. 

C.  E.  KELSEY, 
Special    Indian   Commissioner   for    California. 

Under  instruction  from  Mr.  W.  H.  Code,  Chief  Engineer  in  the 
Indian  Service,  Mr.  C.  R.  Olberg,  Superintendent  of  Irrigation,  has 
prepared  the  following  statement  of  the  actual  work  begun  or  com 
pleted  in  Southern  California  by  the  Engineering  Department  dur 
ing  1908: 

CHIEF   ENGINEER'S   REPORT   FOR   1908. 

The  Indian  Reservations  of  Southern  California  number  approximately 
thirty  separate  bodies  of  land,  and  while  they  are  comparatively  small  indi 
vidually,  collectively  they  form  quite  an  area.  They  are  fairly  well  dis 
tributed  over  the  map  of  Southern  California,  and  the  water  problems  of  each, 
of  course,  partake  of  the  character  of  the  territory  in  which  it  is  located. 

During  the  last  year,  work  has  been  undertaken  to  better  the  water  condi 
tions  on  nine  of  these  small  reservations,  and  surveys  and  estimates  have 
been  made  for  future  work  on  others.  The  reservations  that  have  recently 
benefited  by  the  policy  of  the  Government  to  enable  the  Indians  to  help  them 
selves  are  Pala,  Pechanga,  Soboba,  Morongo,  Torres,  Cabezon,  Augustine, 
Agua  Caliente  and  Campo. 

At  Pala  a  number  of  concrete  lateral  turnouts  were  installed  on  the  canal 
recently  constructed  to  irrigate  the  four  hundred  irrigable  acres  of  the  reser 
vation.  This  work  was  not  done  when  the  canal  was  constructed,  owing  to  a 
lack  of  funds. 

The  Pala  Reservation  is  occupied  jointly  by  the  so-called  Warner  Ranch 
Indians,  who  were  moved  to  Pala  several  years  ago  from  Warner's  Ranch, 
and  a  few  old  Pala  Indians. 

The  Indians  naturally  experience  considerable  difficulty  in  getting  the  water 
from  the  canal  on  to  their  land,  owing  to  the  lack  of  turnouts,  and  there  was 
much  complaint  from  the  Warner  Ranch  Indians  on  that  account. 

The  turnouts  were  completed  early  in  February,  1908,  and  during  the 
summer  the  entire  four  hundred  acres  were  planted  and  irrigated  by  the 
Indians,  who  raised  good  crops  thereon. 

The  Pechanga  Reservation  is  a  small  body  of  land  lying  in  the  foothills 
about  six  miles  southeast  of  Temecula.  Formerly  these  Indians  occupied  the 
Temecula  Valley,  but  they  were  gradually  crowded  out,  as  has  been  graphically 
-depicted  by  Mrs.  Helen  Hunt  Jackson  in  her  book  "Ramona,"  and  were 


IN  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE.  17 

eventually  allotted  the  land  at  present  held  by  them.  This  land  lies  too  high 
for  irrigation,  and  in  seasons  of  little  water,  even  drinking  water  was  hard 
to  obtain.  Fortunately  part  of  the  reservation  is  excellent  grain  land,  the 
area  of  which  has  recently  been  increased  by  the  purchase  of  a  tract  lying 
south  of  the  reservation,  by  Special  Agent  Kelsey. 

The  water  supply  of  the  reservation  consisted  of  several  small  wells,  which 
failed  in  time  of  drought,  and  a  small  spring  up  a  side  canon,  about  three 
miles  from  the  Indian  settlement.  It  was  at  first  contemplated  to  pipe  the 
water  from  this  spring  to  the  village,  but  investigation  showed  that  the  flow, 
was  too  small  for  that  purpose.  Three  twelve-inch  wells  were  then  driven  to 
such  a  depth  as  to  insure  a  permanent  supply.  One  of  these  was  at  the 
school,  another  half  a  mile  above  the  school,  to  supply  the  Indians  residing 
in  that  vicinity,  and  a  third  on  the  tract  recently  purchased.  Three  large 
windmills,  and  accompanying  tanks  and  towers,  have  been  erected.  Pro 
vision  has  been  made  to  enable  the  Indians  to  obtain  water  both  for  domestic 
supply  and  for  the  watering  of  stock. 


These  Indians  are  now  secure  as  far  as  water  for  domestic  and  stock  pur 
poses  is  concerned.  Unfortunately  the  water  lies  at  too  great  a  depth  in  the 
two  upper  wells  to  permit  pumping  for  irrigation,  but  it  may  be  financially 
practical  to  pump  sufficient  from  the  lower  well  to  water  a  small  garden. 

On  the  Saboba  Reservation,  which  lies  on  the  outskirts  of  San  Jacinto,  on 
the  river  of  the  same  name,  the  Indians  have  for  a  long  time  been  irrigating 
the  fields  from  a  small  reservoir,  which  collected  the  water  from  a  number  of 
small  springs.  In  dry  seasons  these  springs  went  dry  and  the  Indians  were 
without  water  for  the  two  or  three  hundred  acres  of  valuable  land  lying  below. 
The  only  solution  was  a  pumping  plant,  and  last  fall  a  battery  of  three  twelve- 
inch  wells  was  driven  near  the  upper  end  of  the  reservoir,  and  a  centrifugal 
pump  and  fittings  have  recently  been  installed  over  these  wells.  The  recent 
heavy  rains,  causing  a  rise  in  the  San  Jacinto  River,  have  delayed  operations 
somewhat,  but  it  is  hoped  to  complete  the  plant  in  the  near  future.  From 
recent  tests  made  on  the  wells,  the  plant  should  deliver  an  ample  supply  of 
water  for  the  Indian  lands. 

Part  of  the  irrigable  land  is  subject  to  overflow  from  the  San  Jacinto  River, 
and  funds  are  now  available  and  work  will  soon  be  commenced  on  the  con- 


18  IN  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE. 

struction  of  a  dike  to  control  the  same.  With  the  protection  of  this  dike  and 
assured  of  an  ample  water  supply,  located  as  they  are,  close  to  the  town  of 
San  Jacinto,  these  Indians  should  become  exceedingly  prosperous. 

On  the  Morongo  Indian  Reservation,  near  Banning,  work  was  commenced 
last  December  and  is  still  in  progress.  This  consists  of  running  an  infiltra 
tion  gallery  up  the  bed  of  Potrero  Creek,  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the 
flow  from  that  stream  and  a  cienega  lying  in  the  valley.  Cement-lined  ditches 
will  also  be  constructed  to  conduct  the  water  to  the  irrigable  lands.  A  very 
fair  flow  of  water  is  obtainable  at  this  point,  and  the  work  will  probably  take 
several  months  to  complete. 

The  Torres  Indian  Reservation  is  located  on  the  so-called  desert  near  the 
Salton  Sea.  About  seven  years  ago  a  number  of  artesian  wells  were  put  in 
on  this  reservation,  and  during  the  last  year  about  fifteen  additional  wells 
have  been  added  to  these,  increasing  very  materially  the  available  water  supply 
at  the  command  of  the  industrious  Indians  of  this  reservation.  The  fertility 
of  the  soil,  its  productiveness  under  irrigation,  and  especially  its  ability  to 


PAT.A  MISSION 

grow  early  melons,  etc.,  bid  fair  to  place  the  Torres  Indians  on  the  road  to 
competence. 

At  Cabezon  and  Augustine,  which  lie  in  the  same  valley  as  the  Torres 
Reservation,  the  land  generally  lies  above  the  artesian  belt,  and  pumping 
plants  have  to  be  resorted  to  in  order  to  obtain  water  for  irrigation  purposes. 
Several  wells  have  been  drilled  during  the  last  year,  and  the  two  pumping 
stations  previously  installed  have  been  enlarged  and  their  discharge  largely 
increased. 

At  Agua  Caliente,  which  is  close  to  Palm  Springs,  on  the  Conchilla  Desert, 
a  pipe  line,  leading  from  the  Andreas  Canon,  was  purchased  from  B.  B. 
Barney  about  a  year  ago.  It  is  proposed  to  convey  the  water,  delivered  by 
this  pipe  line,  through  either  a  cement-lined  ditch  or  a  small  concrete  pipe 
line  to  the  land  belonging  to  the  Indians.  The  soil  in  this  section  is  good  and 
only  needs  the  application  of  water  to  produce  bounteous  crops.  Surveys 
have  already  been  made  and  the  work  will  shortly  be  commenced  and  pushed 
to  completion  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

There  are  a  number  of  Indians  living  at  Campo,  near  the  border  line  of 
Mexico,  in  San  Diego  County,   California.     This  was  brought  to  the   atten-  ' 
tion  of  the  proper  authorities,  and  recently  quite  a  body  of  grazing  land  has 


IN  RE  CALIFORNIA  INDIANS  TO  DATE. 


19 


INDIANS  BUILDING  IRRIGATING  DITCH 

been  set  aside  and  a  couple  of  small  ranches,  with  an  available  water  supply, 
have  been  purchased  for  their  benefit.  Surveys  have  been  made  and  work 
will  shortly  be  commenced  on  the  construction  of  either  small  ditches  or 
small  pipe  lines  to  irrigate  these  ranches.  With  these  two  ranches  under  irri 
gation,  and  the  adjoining  land  available  as  a  cattle  range,  the  Indians  should 
shortly  become  well-to-do. 

The  great  diversity  of  the  character  of  work  on  these  reservations  is  evi 
dent  from  the  foregoing  synopsis.  While  they  are  small,  the  water  problems 
are,  in  a  number  of  instances,  as  difficult  of  solution  as  those  of  the  larger 
reservations  of  the  north.  These  problems  are  being  constantly  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  Chief  Engineer  through  the  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs,  and  are  taken  up  in  that  order. 

Work  is  contemplated  on  the  Santa  Ynez,  the  San  Manuel  and  several 
other  reservations,  and  it  is  hoped  that  in  a  comparatively  short  time  all  the 
Indians  of  Southern  California  will  be  as  prosperous  as  the  nature  of  their 
respective  reservations  will  permit. 

C.  R.  OLBERG, 
Superintendent  of  Irrigation. 


From  "Out  West,"  February-March,  1909 


